Yea, I understand that corticosteroids (esp. prednisone) are the last-resort nuke kinda things, but when they work, they work.
And I was on an HMO at that time (I was 18 and it was my mom’s health plan). Right now, I’m on an individual PPO via Blue Cross/Blue Shield and I was on an Aetna PPO before that, I much prefer the PPO.
[hijack]
Not true - my mother had Roseola at the age of 25, when I did. She lived in a very isolated community and had not been previously exposed.
[/hijack]
REALLY!! That’s amazing. My “Childhood Illness” book must have LIED to me! :eek:
I have always wondered what the symptom was that makes the person get so irritable at the end of the illness. I remember my daughter, usually a very placid and good-tempered child, became absolutely impossible for about a day at that time, and I always wondered if she had a headache, or some other physical pain that she could not explain. Do you know what your mother felt like after the rash broke?
I think my mother will spank me if she finds out I’ve been posting family business on the internet.
I must apologize for not getting back here sooner. I’ve been and still am swamped. Thank you all for responding and sharing your stories. 
I don’t know when I can get back to this thread so y’all continue having fun while I’m out chasing my tail.
ivylass, at this time I can’t give any details, as I’m still trying to get information, and I’m still considering taking legal action. My head just hurts thinking about that and about this whole mess. 
But, at any rate, it’s a miracle that the family member in question is still alive. She is doing better, and I hope she will continue to do so.
I do wish to say that I don’t hate all doctors, although I absolutely do detest hospitals. [shudder] I understand that medical folks are human and make mistakes, and I don’t mean to imply that I don’t respect what doctors and nurses and such like try to do. Most do try to live up to the Hippocratic oath. I also understand that residents have it rough as well, and that they are learning. To my knowledge no residents were involved with my family member’s case. These are experienced doctors and nurses. Well, I’ve said enough.
Do continue to share your stories and educate other folks out there about what to avoid or how to handle the miscommunications that very frequently do occur in the health care system.
I seem to remember her mentioning headache as one of the symptoms, but I’m not certain. I’ll ask her.
I almost always repeat the most important questions, even if the nurse wrote something about it in the summary. Occasionally it annoys the patient. Very commonly, I get a different answer from the nurse. This is often because the question I ask is subtly different from the question the patient thinks is the same, not just because patients kowtow to doctors. Sometimes I ask questions as part of series of questions I’d ask anyone with, say, chest pain, and I don’t want to forget any of them so I usually follow the same general order. Sometimes I’m not in the room when the nurse asks the questions and what she writes down isn’t what I need to know. Sometimes I can’t read the nurses handwriting. Sometimes I want to know how you answer the question, not just what you say. Sometimes the nurse writes down lots of irrelevant stuff (not to you, of course) and it’s just quicker to ask than read. Sometimes I need to know more about your allergies.